Safety-signal for automobiles.



R. GARDNER 6L P. E. KRIER.

Patented July 24, 1917.

4 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

R. GARDNER L P. E. KRIER. SAFETY SIGNAL FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLCATION FlLED JAN- 25. ISII.

RAYMOND GARDNER AND PAUL E. KRIER, O1? INIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

' 1"* SAFETY-SIGNAL FOR AUTOMOBILES.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patentedfuly Z4, 1917.

Application filed January 25, 1917. Serial No. 144,479.

To all lwhom it may concern:

Be it known that we, RAYMOND GARDNER sindl PAUL E. Kuma, citizens of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in, the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Im- Erovements in Safety-Signals for Automoiles, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a device which can be easily applied to mo tor vehicles already built, to be used by occupants of the vehicle for signaling to others their intention as to stopping or turning to the ri ht or to the left.

The o ject is to provide a simple and inexpensive device which can be conveniently mounted at the front, rear, sides or at all of said places if need be on an antomobile or 'other motor-vehicle and controlled from a switch readily accessible to the driver of the Vehicle.

We accomplish the above and other objects which will hereinafter appear, by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front view of our invention with the semaphore arms in their inoperative positions in full lines and in operative positions in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a View of same in side elevation and partial section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and Fig. 3 is a cross section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2 and also showing the wiring diagrammatically, and connection with a push button switch of special construction.

Like characters of reference indica-te like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

The signaling is done by illuminated sema hore arms bearing the respective words ight Left Stop which are intended to convey n'o message in their vertical positions but when turned one at a time to hori- Zonta-l positions will display their respective legends. Fig. 2 shows thethree arms arranged in the preferred embodiment of our invention, and, inasmuch as the mechanism is substantially repeated for each of the three arms, a description of one will sufice for all. The three arms are all mounted on a common horizontal shaft 4 seated in a bracket 5 which is provided with any suitable means (not shown) for fastening the bracket to the frame or other portions of a motor-vehicle at any desired place.

Each arm comprises a pair of disks 6 and 7, having hubs on adjacent sides which con tact wlth each other and serve as spacers to regulate the distance apart of the disks. One of these hubs, preferably the one on the outer disk 6, is secured to the shaft 4 by a key S, but the other hub and its disk 7 are loosely mounted on shaft '4. The semaphore arm proper is fastened to the disk 7, and its movement to a horizontal from anormal vertical position is obtained by the repulsion and attraction of a series of electromagnets. The disk 7 has a lug 10 on its side next to disk 6, and the latter has two lugs 11 and 12, so positioned on each side of lug 10 as to limit the movement of the latter at respectlve vertical andV horizontal positions of the arm. .The arm is'moved when the magnets let go, to a vertical position which we have designated as the normal position and inoperative one, by a spring 13, which is connected. with lug 10 at one end and wrapping around the two hub members is :ttilicled at its other end to the hub on the (1st Fastened to the disk 6 are two electromagnets, the cores 14 and 15 of which are wrapped with'eurrent conducting wires in directions to bring theirpositive poles opposite the respective lugs 11 and 12, witlrtheir negative poles near each other, and as the disk 6 is stationary the two magnets will likewise be stationary. Attachment of the magnets is by U-shaped clips 16. Fastened by clips in the same manner to( the disk 7 is an electromagnet the core 17 of which is wrapped by the same wire as the two other magnets, in a direction to bring the positive pole next to the positive pole of core 14. The magnets are connected in series with each other and with a lamp 18, a storage or other battery 19 supplying the electric current by a system of wiring as shown in Fig. 3.

The pair of disks 6 and 7 is assembled between a pair of parallel plates 2O and 21, which are connected at the ends and sides by plates 22, forming a chamber in which lamp 1S is located. The inner surface of the plate 21 is formed into a reflector to re- Heet the light toward the other plate 20. The latter is perforated to form openings in the shape of the letters 21 of the sign to be displayed which is rendered visible at night by the light from the lamp back of it. To render the sign more conspicuous, a red or other colored glass 23, is preferably placed between the perforated plate and the lamp, and is there secured by a clamping frame" 24. The two plates 20 and 21 are provided with openings for shaft 4 to pass through, and the plates are extended to cover the entire faces of the disks, to the movable one 7, of which, its adjacent plate is fastened by lag-screws 25. Slots 26 lead in from the ends of said plates to the hole for the shaft thereby enabling the plates to be assembled and removed by movement laterally of the shaft. The disk 7 has a bracket 27 integral therewith upon which the lamp is supported.

The wiring of the magnets as shown is for a semaphore to swing to the right. This and also the application of the spring and location of the stops will be reversed where the movement is to the left.

We introduce a push button switch of special construction in the circuit between the battery and movable magnet which will be quick in closing but will open slowly in order to display the` signal for an ample period of time to insure adequate notice to the public. The stem 28 of the push button 29 operates like a plunger in a cylinder 30. The bore of the cylinder is enlarged near its outer cnd to form a spring-pocket in which a spring 31 is seated and by bearing against a collar 32 at the base of the button presses the latter normally outwardly to open the circuit. At the inner end of the cylinder 30 is a chamber 33, air tight with the exception of an inlet port 34 and an exhaust port 35 of much greater capacity, but terminating in a seat in which a ball valve 36 is seated by a spring 37. The ends of the divided wire are attached to the respective binding posts 38 and 39, connection between which is electrically made by the springplatc 40, of usualconstruction, actuated by the push button in the usual way. In the operation of our switch-mechanism, the air in chamber 33 displaced when the stem of the push button is forced into it, escapes rapidly through the exhaust port 35, but the latter is immediat-ely closed by the seating of the ball-valve through the action of spring 37. The electrical circuit is closed by the push button and so remains until the slowly entering air through port 34 fills chamber 33 and enables spring 31 to overcome the atmospheric pressure against the outer end of the push button and the latter gradually resumes its outer position as the air slowly enters through port 34. In the meantime the circuit remains closed.

There is a separate wiring and a separate push vbutton for each of the three armswinging mechanisms, but the three push buttons may be assembled conveniently close together as shown, if desired.

In the further operation of our device, assuming the parts as shown in Fig. 3, but with the circuit just closed, the three magnets will be energized and the positive poles of 14 and 17 being near each other will repel, thereby moving disk 7 and its attached arm downwardly toward the position shown in dotted lines when the negative pole of the moving magnet will be brought more and more within the influence and attraction of the positive pole of the lower fixed magnet 15, which will complete the lowering of the arm and will hold it in its lowered position until the magnets are demagnetized by the opening of the circuit. Then the spring 13 will return the arm to the vertical position.

While we have described our invention with more or less minuteness as regards details of construction and arrangement, and as being embodied in certain precise forms, we do not desire to be limited thereto unduly or any more than is pointed out in the claims. On the contrary we contemplate all proper changes in form, construction and arrangement, the omission of immaterial elements and the substitution of equivalents as circumstances may suggest or as necessity may render expedient.

We claim- 1. In a safety signal for vehicles, a semaphore arm, an electromagnet moving therewith, a pair of fixed electromagnets one on each side of said rst magnet and in the path thereof, one of which repels and the other of which attracts said first magnet, a source of electric current, an electric circuit connecting all of said magnets with the source of current, automatic means for opening the circuit and manually operated means for closing it.

2. In a safety signal for vehicles, a semaphore arm, an electromagnet moving therewith, a air of fixed electromagnets one on each si e of said first magnet and in the path thereof, one of which repels and the other of which attracts said rst magnet, a source of electric current, an electric circuit connecting all of said magnets with the source of current, manually operated means for quickly closing the circuit when open, and automatic means for opening the circuit after a predetermined interval from the time of said closing.

3. In a safety signal for vehicles, a supporting shaft, a disk movably mounted on said shaft, a second disk mounted in a fixed manner on the shaft, spacing hubs between said disks, a pair of spaced apart lugs on the fixed disk, a lug on the movable disk adapted to be stopped by the other two, a means for energizing al1 of said magnets insemaphore arm carried by the movable disk, termittently. 1 spring means to normally hold the movable In Witness whereof, We have hereunto Set lug against one of said fixed lugs, an elecoui` hands and seals at Indianapolis, Intro-magnet carried by the movable disk, a diana, this 15th day of January, A. D. one pair of fixed magnets one on each side of thousand nine hundred and seventeen.

said first magnet one of which repels and RAYMOND GARDNER. [L.S.] the other attracts the movable magnet, and PAUL E. KRIER. [1.. 5.]

copie! of this patent may be obtained tor ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C." 

